RAFA BENITEZ has labelled Gareth Barry a money-grabber and warned him he has made a mistake by putting his bank balance before the chance to win medals with Liverpool.
CASH BEFORE HONOURS: Benitez says Barry has made a 'mistake' in snubbing Liverpool
Liverpool manager Benitez was in belligerent mood yesterday, telling wantaway duo Xabi Alonso and Javier Mascherano they “owed” the club a show of loyalty.
But his most stinging words were reserved for Manchester City and England midfielder Barry.
He was expected to move to Anfield this summer, 12 months after an aborted switch from Aston Villa, but opted for City instead, where he will pick up wages of about £130,000 a week. Benitez believes Barry’s motivation to move to Eastlands was purely financial and aimed a blistering attack on the player.
“In this market now, money is not the main thing. Everyone at this level earns big money,” said Benitez.
“You just have to make decisions and do your best in the right way. If it’s just for money, sometimes you will make mistakes. I was surprised by some decisions this year – like Gareth Barry. I won’t say too much, but clearly it was 100 per cent for money.
“At the end of the day, the most important thing for me is the passion of the players.” Liverpool yesterday unveiled £18million Glen Johnson, who had rebuffed approaches from Manchester City and Chelsea before opting to move to Merseyside.
But
Benitez’s focus was also fixed on keeping Real Madrid and Barcelona at
arm’s length in their pursuit of Alonso and Mascherano, who both earn
around £80,000 a week.
While both players are
privately pushing for moves to La Liga, neither has publicly been brave
enough to declare their hand as yet.
That
attitude is irritating Benitez, who plucked Alonso from relative
obscurity at Real Sociedad in 2004 and rescued Mascherano from the
wilderness at West Ham in January 2007.
Liverpool
are standing firm on valuations of above £30m for both players and
Benitez said: “If we have to be strong enough, we will be. Both players
are under contract and we are really pleased.
“We
signed Alonso when nobody knew him and renewed his contract two years
ago, so he was happy, and with Mascherano you know about West Ham.
“Both
players owe a lot to Liverpool Football Club and the fans like them, so
we can keep working with them. They owe the team their loyalty. They
both know that.”
Mascherano is due to meet up
with Liverpool at their training camp in Switzerland on Monday, while
Alonso is not due back in training until July 19, following his
Confederations’ Cup exertions with Spain.
By contrast, Benitez hailed Steven Gerrard’s contract extension as “really good” for the future of the club.
England man Gerrard has signed up for the next four years.
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